Some of the most consistent feedback I get about the podcast is the message of hope that rings through. Today’s episode takes the message of hope up a level by revisiting the folks at the Sunflower Star Lab.

Sunflower sea stars are amazing creatures - not your typical sea star. They can reach over three feet, live for decades, they are highly mobile, and function as keystone species in kelp forest systems. Just a little over a decade ago, there were 6 billion of these animals along the pacific coast of North America. Then, they vanished. And the consequences to kelp systems has been dire.

But thanks to innovative work at the Sunflower Star Lab, and the numerous partners that they’ve cultivated, things are looking up - and much more quickly than I ever imagined.

So last December I made the short trip down to Moss Landing, California, and today I’m sharing my conversation with Reuven Bank and Andrew Kim from the Sunflower Star Lab. They’re here to tell us the full story of the Seastar and why things have taken this turn for the better. You might remember them from episode 104 - even if you listened to that one, I promise you today’s episode is well worth a listen.

Check out the Sunflower Star Lab at sunflowerstarlab.org and on Facebook and Instagram.

FULL SHOWS NOTES

Links

Friday Harbor Laboratories

Jason Hodin

Kelp Watch

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Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz Music
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Artist site: https://brianholtzmusic.com

Discover the Jumpstart Nature Podcast - entertaining and immersive, it's the nature fix we all need.

Check past Nature's Archive episodes for amazing guests like Doug Tallamy, Elaine Ingham, and Rae Wynn-Grant, covering topics from bird migration to fungi to frogs and bats!

Imagine a creature that is born already pregnant with its own grandchildren. No mating, no waiting—just a continuous, telescopic unfolding of life. It sounds like something out of a sci-fi novel, but it’s likely happening on the underside of a leaf in your backyard. Today, we’re looking past the 'pest' label to discover the mind-bending biology of the aphid.

Our guest today is aphidologist Natalie Hernandez. If you are on iNaturalist, you might recognize her as one of the most prolific identifiers of aphids.

Today we learn about these incredible insects, including why ants tend to aphids like livestock, how telescopic reproduction works, and we investigate why aphids are incredibly important to ecosystems. While a few aphid species can be pests to agriculture, most are critical parts of the food web.

I’ve grown to love finding new aphid species when I’m out exploring, and I hope today’s episode will help inspire you to look under a few more leaves this spring and summer.

Find Natalie on iNaturalist and instagram!

FULL SHOW NOTES

LINKS

Aphids on the World's Plants - excellent online resource for identifying aphids

Thanks to Brook Neely for editing this episode.

Support Us On Patreon!
Buy our Merch!

Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz Music
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Artist site: https://brianholtzmusic.com

Discover the Jumpstart Nature Podcast - entertaining and immersive, it's the nature fix we all need.

Check past Nature's Archive episodes for amazing guests like Doug Tallamy, Elaine Ingham, and Rae Wynn-Grant, covering topics from bird migration to fungi to frogs and bats!

Land stewards face a constant, high-stakes puzzle: Do you protect a single at-risk species, or do you optimize for total biodiversity? Do you fight to hold back the tide of natural succession, or do you step back and let nature take the lead?

Stewardship has always been about trade-offs, but climate change has shifted the very ground we stand on. It’s no longer just about maintaining what we have; it’s about navigating a target that is constantly moving. We are moving past the era of 'restoring the past' and entering an era of 'designing for the future.' In some cases, it may mean accepting that ecosystems we hold dear may permanently change —but it also means we have the tools to ensure they don't lose their soul, their function, or their life-sustaining power.

Joining us today is Dr. Zac Cannizzo, a specialist in climate-informed conservation across both marine and terrestrial systems. Zac is here to pull back the curtain on how we manage hope in a warming world. He’ll explain why these shifts are so hard for us to accept, and more importantly, he’ll walk us through the practical framework he uses to help ecosystems thrive, even when the climate says they shouldn't.

From the bleaching heat of coral reefs to the migrating treelines of Alaska, Zac shows us that while we can’t stop the wind from changing, we can certainly change how we set the sails.

FULL SHOW NOTES

Links

McHenry County Conservation District

Office of National Marine Sanctuaries Climate Vulnerability Assessments

Press release about the threatened fish translocation

Support Us On Patreon!
Buy our Merch!

Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz Music
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Artist site: https://brianholtzmusic.com

Discover the Jumpstart Nature Podcast - entertaining and immersive, it's the nature fix we all need.

Check past Nature's Archive episodes for amazing guests like Doug Tallamy, Elaine Ingham, and Rae Wynn-Grant, covering topics from bird migration to fungi to frogs and bats!